The document outlines a session on media literacy and managing misinformation sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. It covers definitions of media literacy, the prominence of misinformation, and provides tips and tools for evaluating information, while highlighting the global implications of media manipulation and its impact on society. Key themes include the evolution of media literacy, historical examples of misinformation, and actionable advice for critical consumption of media.

1. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
Understanding Media Literacy
and Managing Misinformation
Damian Radcliffe
Carolyn S. Chambers Professor of Journalism
University of Oregon
20th July 2022

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Today’s session
1. Definitions
2. Spotlight on misinformation
3. Tips and Tools
4. Alumni experiences
5. Q&A

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I know it’s Day Three….
(But hopefully that sounds good)

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Virtual Introductions Your name
Where you’re
based now
Where you’re
heading to!

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Your name
Where you’re
based now
Where you’re
heading to!

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About Me
• British – in USA since 2015
• Married (Habiba)
• 3 x Children (Nyla, Yara and Rafi)
• 1 cat (Oreo)
• Love(d) to travel (57 countries)
• BA and MA Oxford University

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1995 – 1999: The Local Radio Company
1999 – 2003: BBC
2003 – 2008: CSV Media (NGO)
2008 – 2012: Ofcom (UK Office of Communications)
2012 - 2014: ictQATAR (Ministry of Information and Communication Technology)
2012 + Freelance journalist + trainer
2015+ University of Oregon
Background + timeline
1995 2022

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Many hats
Carolyn S. Chambers Professor in Journalism
University of Oregon
Fellow, Tow Center for Digital Journalism
Columbia University, Graduate School of Journalism
Honorary Research Fellow
Cardiff University, School of Journalism, Media and Culture Studies
Fellow
Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA)

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Lens for this session…
• Journalist
• Researcher
• Educator and Trainer
Those hats…

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Yes, we’re cousins!

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Reminder: today’s session
1. Definitions
2. Spotlight on misinformation
3. Tips and Tools
4. Alumni experiences
5. Q&A

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Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
1. Definitions
2. Spotlight on misinformation
3. Tips and Tools
4. Alumni experiences
5. Q&A

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1. Definitions

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“Media Literacy is the ability to access, analyze,
evaluate and create media in a variety of forms.”
1992 Aspen Media Literacy Leadership Institute

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“Media Literacy is a 21st century approach to education.
It provides a framework to access, analyze, evaluate,
create and participate with messages in a variety of forms
— from print to video to the Internet.
Media literacy builds an understanding of the role of
media in society as well as essential skills of inquiry and
self-expression necessary for citizens of a democracy.”
Center for Media Literacy

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Media literacy enables people to have the skills, knowledge and
understanding to make full use of the opportunities presented by both
traditional and new communications services.
Media literacy also helps people to manage content and
communications, and protect themselves and their families from the
potential risks associated with using these services.
Evolving Ofcom definition

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Tl;DR > Multiple definitions, but typically include:
- Access – media plurality (e.g., FB = internet), affordability, freedom of information
- Understanding - critical thinking + how media works
- Ability to manage risks and potential harms

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Tl;DR > Multiple definitions, but typically include:
- Ability to manage risks and potential harms

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2. Spotlight on misinformation

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Emerged as a major source of
concern from 2016 onwards

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Global
Issue
Multiple
topics

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How confident are you?
Post in the chat:
1-3 = Not very confident
4-6 = Somewhat confident
7-9 = Very confident
10 = I should be giving this talk Damian!

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What do we mean by
misinformation?

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How it works

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Motive matters

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Examples

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False context

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Footage shown of President
Zelensky “out there fighting for
his country,” was filmed in 2021.
(Screenshot via NewsGuard)

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Game footage also used to depict
war in Ukraine… and Syria…

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Poor journalism

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Time, Trump + MLK

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Fake websites

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Conspiracy theories

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Covered by:
- Quartz
- Elite Daily
- Cosmopolitan
- BuzzFeed
- Digg
- MTV
- And more!
Humor – Parody - Satire

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Denial covered by Quartz, Washington Post + others.

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Global Issue
“In place of overt, mass repression, rulers such as Vladimir
Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Viktor Orbán control
their citizens by distorting information and simulating
democratic procedures. Like spin doctors in democracies,
they spin the news to engineer support.”
How a new breed of dictators holds power by
manipulating information and faking democracy

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Accelerated by COVID “Infodemic”

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Iran:
Over 700 die
drinking
alcohol to
cure COVID

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Nigeria Two patients overdosed on the anti-
malaria drug chloroquine

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18th Century Europe
• Publishers of fake news fined
and banned in the Netherlands.
• Gerard Lodewijk van der Macht, banned four times by Dutch
authorities. Each time he moved and restarted his press.

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1782: Boston, USA
Benjamin Franklin spread fake news to intensify the
American revolution.

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1917: Yorkshire, UK

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Why now?

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1. Fake news looks a lot like real news

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2. Tech doesn’t discern fact from fiction

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Facebook groups swelled with at least 650,000 posts attacking the legitimacy of Joe Biden’s victory
between Election Day and the Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol, with many calling for executions or
other political violence, an investigation by ProPublica and The Washington Post found.

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3. Algorithms show us more of what
we like, not what we need to know

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4. Bots + weaponization of the web

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5. Tech has pulled money away
from sources of real reporting

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Five further trends worth noting

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1. Trust in Journalism

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Two-thirds (67%) of people globally* believe
that journalists and reporters purposely try
to mislead people by saying things they
know are false or grossly exaggerated.
An increase of 8% from 2021’s report.
* 28 countries, 36,000 respondents

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2. Society + media
= more partisan

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3. Reduced media freedom

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Q: How does your country rank?
https://rsf.org/en/index

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4. Controlling the message

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4b. Media Capture
“In many parts of the world, special interests, from oligarchs and other elites to
governments, are influencing and controlling the media for personal gain.
When media is captured in this way, it is no longer independent.
Captured media loses the ability to reflect the broad interests of the
community and to hold power to account – the classic role of the fourth estate.
Most often, media is captured by governments, plutocrats or corporations or,
in many cases, a mixture of all three.”
Internews, 2017

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In 2020, the Polish oil company Orlen,
partially owned (27.5%) by the government,
bought 'Polska Press,’ making it the owner of:
• 20 of the 24 regional newspapers in Poland
• 120 regional weeklies and
• 500 news websites.
Used by 17.4 million media consumers.

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5. Becoming more sophisticated

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Found in different forms
+ on different platforms

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Memes

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Claims can be more powerful – and memorable
when there’s an image associated with it.

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3. Tips and Tools
- 10 recommendations

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1.Consume widely…
+ develop a list of trust sources

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2. Understand your source

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3. Double check everything

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4. Be skeptical

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5. Learn how to reverse image search

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6. Slow Down

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Misinformation can have major consequences

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7. Be mindful as stories break

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And where…

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8. Check your emotions

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9. Find the
local
equivalent of
Snopes,
PolitiFact etc.

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Also being
weaponized

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10. Don’t automatically
trust authority figures

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Yes, we’re cousins!

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Yes, we’re cousins!

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“False information spreads just
like accurate information.”
Farida Vis, Sheffield University research fellow
Remember!

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Email: damianr@uoregon.edu
Twitter: @damianradcliffe
Web: www.damianradcliffe.com
Thanks for listening